Sometimes, God tells me something several times. If that happens, then I pay attention. The God of the universe doesn't repeat Himself just to hear Himself talk. Recently, I have heard sermonettes on the way we view sin in our society. It was something that I had been thinking about but was unsure how to broach the subject. Sin is like a weed. If we let it into our garden(life), it'll take over until we rip it out by the roots. Once you let that weed loose in the soil, it will choke the life out of all the good plants and then other weeds get in there and eventually, the flowers or veggies are dead. Why do we do this? For some of us, sin can feel like a blanket. It is scratchy and moldy smelling but we know it's weight and we are comfortable with it around our shoulders.
The thing that God has been speaking to me is that we have no shame or guilt in society anymore. Now, as a believer in Christ, I don't think that shame or guilt should run our lives. But, sometimes, I think we could have a healthier dose of them. When I was in school(no, I didn't walk both ways to school in the snow, barefoot), people didn't walk around visibly pregnant. If they were pregnant, they stayed until they had an abortion or went somewhere to have it. When I was teaching high school, we had 13 girls pregnant in a school of about 500, walking around school, even having baby showers and being proud. If we had a healthy sense of shame, we might be ashamed of the ways that we behave. I have heard twice, now, about "sexting". I had no idea that this was being done, however, I am not surprised. If you are like me and a little clueless, guys and girls take risque photos of themselves and then send them around to all their friends. They are doing it at school and at church. Can you imagine? Yes, I think we can. There were things going on when we were little that would have shocked our parents. Do kids realize that once it is out there, you can't get it back? What they post on their Facebook & myspace pages is atrocious! Some of the quotes that I have read from my high school youth kids were bordering on blasphemous. Maybe instead of shame and guilt, we should have more of a fear(healthy) of God. Not the kind of fear that He will smite us down, but the kind of fear, that we respect what He has to say and don't bring Him into certain situations.
I can't imagine what kids these days must be dealing with. Some kids will be addicted to porn by the time they graduate. There are those that are cutting themselves and ingesting poison i.e. drugs in our schools and in our churches. They are destroying their bodies, their minds, and sometimes their spirits. I have asked God to break my heart for the things that break His. I believe that He is doing that! I love the youth with whom I work and I see some great leaders in it. I, also, see pain and heartache for some that will leave scars on their souls. The process that will cause the scars is going to be so painful. Trust me. I have scars, some of which are so fresh. But, my scars are nothing compared to what Christ's are. He got His scars through no fault of His own. I caused my own pain, for the most part. By Christ's scars, we are healed. My scars bring salvation to none. I can, however, show my scars and the healing that has taken place to show God's glory. I don't want us to live a life drowning in shame and guilt but God created us and gave us those emotions and I think that we can experience them without sinning. King David expressed it so eloquently in 2 Samuel 12, "I have sinned against God."
